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How the Orlando Pirates Are Winning Over Orlando
How the Orlando Pirates Are Winning Over Orlando
Walking through the tunnels of Kia Center, it’s impossible not to feel the weight of Orlando sports history.
The faces are everywhere. Shaquille O’Neal. Penny Hardaway. Nick Anderson. Darrell Armstrong. Tracy McGrady. Dwight Howard. Hedo Turkoglu. Their images line the walls as championship banners and decades of memories hang overhead. For anyone who has followed sports in Orlando, it feels like hallowed ground.
Beneath those rafters, something new…and strangely familiar…is taking root.
On July 5, Pulp City attended its first Orlando Pirates game. Orlando’s newest professional football team competes in the Indoor Football League, relocating to Central Florida ahead of the 2026 season, after establishing itself as one of the league’s premier franchises in Massachusetts. A 2021 United Bowl champion and 2024 league finalist, the Pirates entered the contest with an 8-5 record and were undefeated at Kia Center, looking to complete a perfect regular season at home.
We expected to introduce readers to the franchise through a short video feature. Instead, we found ourselves asking a different question: Can Orlando become a two-professional football-team town?
Building on Tradition
In the franchise’s official relocation announcement, the move was described as “a strategic and cultural shift” centered on community, connection, and homegrown pride. Owner Jawad Yatim said the organization saw an opportunity to integrate the Pirates into Central Florida and deliver a team the community could be proud of.
The franchise also signaled its respect for Orlando’s indoor football history by bringing in former Orlando Predators head coach Rob Keefe to help guide its transition into the city. From the beginning, the message was clear: this wasn’t about replacing Orlando’s football legacy. It was about building on it.
By the end of the night, it wasn’t the football we were talking about. It was the people who refused to let Orlando’s indoor football tradition disappear.
The Fans Who Never Left
When we asked fans why they supported the Orlando Pirates, we kept hearing the same answer: “I was a Predators fan.”
For many of them, the Orlando Pirates don’t replace the Predators. They represent the next chapter of Orlando’s indoor football tradition.
One fan, known simply as Peg Legged Pete, arrived dressed head-to-toe as a pirate. Originally from Chicago, he hasn’t missed a home game and was among the former Predators fans eager to embrace Orlando’s newest indoor football franchise.
Another fan caught our attention wearing a remarkably detailed costume inspired by The Predator. Rather than retire it when Orlando’s arena football landscape changed, he rebuilt it in Pirates colors. Pulling out his phone, he showed us AI-generated videos he created of pirates making their opponents walk the plank.
These weren’t people looking for something to do on a Saturday night. They were preserving a tradition they refused to let disappear.
When we asked why they kept coming back, the answers were almost identical: to support the team, grow the fan base, and make sure indoor football succeeds in Orlando again.
Loyalty Outlives Franchises
That word—again—matters.
Because it says something about Orlando.
Sports cultures don’t disappear simply because a franchise does. They live on in the people who continue showing up. Jerseys change. Logos change. Sometimes even leagues change.
Loyalty has a way of surviving.
The Orlando Pirates inherited more than a championship pedigree when they came to Central Florida.
They inherited a community waiting for someone to believe in.
Inside Kia Center, that community already feels alive.
Families sat alongside veterans, longtime arena football supporters and first-time visitors. Every big play echoed through the building. On the shorter indoor field, the action unfolds just feet from the fans, creating a version of football that’s fast, physical and remarkably intimate.
Even Orlando Magic Hall of Famer Vince Carter was in attendance with his family, another reminder that Orlando’s sports community has a way of showing up for itself.
The Pirates ultimately fell to the Green Bay Blizzard, suffering their first home loss of the season.
By then, though, the score almost felt beside the point.
Winning a City’s Attention
Surprisingly, for a team that entered the night undefeated at home, far too many Orlando residents still don’t know the Pirates are here.
That obstacle is bigger than any opponent they’ll face this season. Winning games earns playoff berths, but winning a city’s attention is how franchises become institutions.
The Orlando Storm have already shown that spring football can attract an audience in Central Florida, benefiting from the energy surrounding Inter&Co Stadium and a growing appetite for professional football beyond the NFL. The Pirates face a different challenge. They’re introducing a proven franchise to a new city while reconnecting with a fan base that never truly stopped loving indoor football.
These two teams aren’t fighting the same battle.
One is establishing itself in the outdoor game.
The other is reminding Orlando why it fell in love with indoor football in the first place.
As we walked through Kia Center, we noticed signs from local businesses like Beth’s Burger Bar. We met fans who haven’t missed a home game and spoke with people who weren’t simply rooting for a football team. They were rooting for the idea that Orlando can once again become an indoor football city.
Every banner hanging inside Kia Center represents a team that once had to earn Orlando’s belief. Every tradition started with people who chose to show up before everyone else did.
Judging by Peg Legged Pete, the fan who never misses a home game, the supporter who rebuilt his Predator costume in Pirates colors and the loyal fans determined to help this franchise grow…
The Orlando Pirates may already be on their way.
Mike Synan
News | Sports | Politics
- After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com
